The Wildcats are scheduled to play 21 regular-season games against NCAA Tournament teams from one year ago. UK will play seven of last year’s Sweet 16 squads and five Elite Eight teams, including two matchups against the defending National Champion Florida Gators.
The complete schedule is below. All times listed are Eastern:
| Date | Opponent/Event | Location | TV Network | Tip Time |
| Oct. 11 | Big Blue Madness | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | SECN+ | 6 p.m. |
| Oct. 17 | Blue-White | Historic Memorial Coliseum | SECN+ | 7 p.m. |
| Oct. 24 | Purdue (exhibition) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | SEC Network | 6 p.m. |
| Oct. 30 | Georgetown (exhibition) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | SECN+ | 7 p.m. |
| Nov. 4 | Nicholls (BBN United Tipoff Classic) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | SECN+ | 7 p.m. |
| Nov. 7 | Valparaiso (BBN United Tipoff Classic) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | SECN+ | 7 p.m. |
| Nov. 11 | at Louisville | KFC Yum! Center (Louisville, Ky.) | ESPN | 8 p.m. |
| Nov. 14 | Eastern Illinois (BBN United Tipoff Classic) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | SECN+ | 7 p.m. |
| Nov. 18 | vs. Michigan State (Champions Classic) | Madison Square Garden (New York) | ESPN | 6:30 p.m. |
| Nov. 21 | Loyola (Md.) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | SECN+ | 7 p.m. |
| Nov. 26 | Tennessee Tech | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | SEC Network | 7 p.m. |
| Dec. 2 | North Carolina (ACC/SEC Challenge) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | ESPN | 9:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 5 | vs. Gonzaga | Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, Tenn.) | ESPN2 | 7 p.m. |
| Dec. 9 | North Carolina Central | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | SEC Network | 7 p.m. |
| Dec. 13 | Indiana | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | ESPN | 7:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 20 | vs. St. John’s (CBS Sports Classic) | State Farm Arena (Atlanta) | CBS | 12:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 23 | Bellarmine | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | SECN+ | 1 p.m. |
| Jan. 3 | at Alabama (SEC) | Coleman Coliseum (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) | ESPN | 1 p.m. |
| Jan. 7 | Missouri (SEC) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | ESPN2 | 7 p.m. |
| Jan. 10 | Mississippi State (SEC) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | SEC Network | 8:30 p.m. |
| Jan. 14 | at LSU (SEC) | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (Baton Rouge, La.) | SEC Network | 7 p.m. |
| Jan. 17 | at Tennessee (SEC) | Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center (Knoxville, Tenn.) | ESPN | Noon |
| Jan. 21 | Texas (SEC) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | SEC Network | 7 p.m. |
| Jan. 24 | Ole Miss (SEC) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | ESPN/ESPN2 | Noon |
| Jan. 27 | at Vanderbilt (SEC) | Memorial Gymnasium (Nashville, Tenn.) | ESPN | 9 p.m. |
| Jan. 31 | at Arkansas (SEC) | Bud Walton Arena (Fayetteville, Ark.) | ESPN | 6:30 p.m. |
| Feb. 4 | Oklahoma (SEC) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | ESPN2 | 7 p.m. |
| Feb. 7 | Tennessee (SEC) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | ESPN | 8:30 p.m. |
| Feb. 14 | at Florida (SEC) | Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O’Connell Center (Gainesville, Fla.) | ABC | 3 p.m. |
| Feb. 17 | Georgia (SEC) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU | 9 p.m. |
| Feb. 21 | at Auburn (SEC) | Neville Arena (Auburn, Ala.) | ESPN/ESPN2 | 8:30 p.m. |
| Feb. 24 | at South Carolina (SEC) | Colonial Life Arena (Columbia, S.C.) | SEC Network | 7 p.m. |
| Feb. 28 | Vanderbilt (SEC) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | ESPN/ESPN2 | 2 p.m. |
| March 3 | at Texas A&M (SEC) | Reed Arena (Bryan-College Station, Texas) | ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU | 7 p.m. |
| March 7 | Florida (SEC) | Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center | ESPN/ESPN2 | 4 p.m. |
Details on regular-season home games for men’s basketball will be announced soon, including the launch of Kentucky’s official resale marketplace powered by Ticketmaster. This platform will provide fans with a secure way to buy and sell verified tickets, even for games that may have already sold out.
Season ticket holders are reminded that exhibition games vs. Purdue and Georgetown are included in their season ticket packages.
Kentucky head coach Mark Pope and the Wildcats are coming off the program’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 2019 and return Collin Chandler, Brandon Garrison, Trent Noah, and Otega Oweh, who all contributed to a 24-12 season that featured wins over an NCAA-record-tying eight Associated Press Top 15 foes.
Adding to UK’s firepower in 2025-26 is one of the highest-ranked transfer classes in the country. The Cats will add 2025 National Champion Denzel Aberdeen from Florida; a two-time NCAA Sweet 16 participant in Alabama’s Mouhamed Dioubate; an All-Atlantic Coast Conference performer in Pitt’s Jaland Lowe; Reece Potter from Miami of Ohio who is a Lexington native; National Defensive Player of the Year late-season finalist Jayden Quaintance from Arizona State; and Kam Williams from Tulane who earned American Athletic Conference All-Freshman Team honors.
The Cats also have four collegiate newcomers in Braydon Hawthorne, Andrija Jelavić, Jasper Johnson, and Malachi Moreno.